Kitchens for Entertaining: Hosting at Home in Style
Kitchens for Entertaining: Hosting at Home in Style
With the festive season upon us and new year celebrations around the corner, many of us will be preparing to host friends and family at home. And the setting for these dinner parties and gatherings? Probably the kitchen. As the heart of the home, people tend to gravitate to the kitchen… partly because this is where delicious food and drink can be found.
At KCA, many of our clients love to host and high on their wish list is a kitchen perfect for dinner parties and home gatherings. There are many different ways that a kitchen can be designed for entertaining, depending on how you like to host. In this article, our designers share design ideas to inspire your kitchen renovation and help you host at home in style, whether it’s an intimate dinner party or a late-night knees-up.
The Perfect Party Floor Plan
Many of the kitchens we design today focus on multifunction, with open or broken layouts to facilitate family life. These multifunctional spaces can also make the perfect entertainment space, offering enough room for everyone to get together without feeling crowded.
A kitchen island or peninsula layout is ideal for entertaining, creating a dedicated work area to prepare and cook food with space for your guests to interact with each other and hosts in the kitchen. kitchens designed for clients that love entertaining will have an effortless flow between the various zones allowing people to transition through the phases of the night from drinks, canapes and dining to more drinks, dancing, and party games.
Seating is one of the most important considerations when entertaining at home, and avoiding dusting off the camping chairs from the garage takes a little thought. A well-planned kitchen design will adapt to suit the occasion, quickly transitioning from daily breakfasts and family meals to a cocktail party. There are many options to consider, including:
Banquette Seating – This unlocks the potential of your floor plan by making the dining area more compact. A banquette also enables you to space your guests as needed to seat more or fewer people. Moreover, banquettes are also comfy and casual places for your guests to dine, drink and converse. Want to know more about banquette seating? Check out our blog – The 5 Benefits of Banquette Seating in Your Kitchen.
Breakfast Bar Seating – Another casual seating area, raised breakfast bar seating creates an ideal ‘bar’ feel. While it’s unlikely that your breakfast bar will provide seating for everyone, don’t worry because it works well as a place for people to perch as others stand and mingle.
Movable Dining Island – If you’ve seen our new showroom displays, you will likely have seen our movable dining island. If flexibility is high on your wish list, a portable kitchen dining island enables you to move your table to open-up floor space or create more seating around the table.
Make Space for a Wine Cooler
For people that regularly entertain, a wine cooler is a worthwhile investment. Storing your wine at the optimum temperature preserves its flavour and guarantees that your favourite bottle is always at hand. Where you position your cooler is key, some choose to place the cooler on the working side of the kitchen island, so it’s out of sight, while others opt to make it a feature and install it closer to the dining area or in a dedicated bar area.
Bar Area
Home bars have become popular as kitchens evolve into multifunctional living spaces. A home bar can take many forms, from a large pantry cabinet hidden behind closed doors to a dedicated open bar space that becomes a prominent feature within the kitchen. To elevate a home bar and add that touch of cocktail glamour, we recommend considering open shelving, mirror, integrated lighting, a wine cooler, and drawers for your bar accessories.
Another option is a separate dedicated bar area, a luxury indulgence for the ultimate party house with a generous floor plan.
Lighting For Every Mood
Lighting sets the mood and creates an ambience when entertaining. Beyond the necessary task lighting for cooking areas, your kitchen should also include ambient and accent lighting to suit evenings and hosting friends. Set the mood for each occasion with pendant lighting above seating areas such as the dining table and kitchen island. For an extra touch of glamour, accent lighting within the kitchen, such as in shadow gaps, plinths, shelves, handle rails, and glazed cabinets, creates a soft glowing light and stunning visual impact. Installing ceiling lights on dimmers is also a must-have to get the light levels right.
if you haven’t read it already, our blog – Designer Tips for Your Kitchen Lighting, has some expert advice that will help you plan your lighting scheme along with some of our favourite lighting setups and solutions.
Champagne Trough
No New Year’s Eve party or celebration would be complete without a bottle of bubbly on ice. Swap the champagne bucket for a bespoke champagne trough integrated within your kitchen worktop, a showstopper that’s sure to get your guests talking. A champagne trough keeps your drink of choice perfectly chilled and accessible throughout the evening, and for the moments when your kitchen isn’t in party mode, it’s also perfect for potted plants and fresh herbs.
Appliances to Cater Comfortably
Beyond the appliances for everyday use, you may consider the following to elevate your kitchen for entertaining.
Warming Drawer – These help with batch cooking, so you can prepare canapes or meals early and keep them at the perfect temperature ready for serving.
Secondary Fridge – A second fridge is always welcome when entertaining, providing much-needed space to store food, ingredients, and drinks. Locate the second fridge within your utility room or another area with easy access to the kitchen.
Second Dishwasher – If you host large groups, a second dishwasher helps keep worktops clear throughout the evening and makes cleaning up that little bit easier.
Coffee machine – For the perfect espresso martini or after-dinner coffee, a quality home coffee machine enables you to create barista-quality coffee for your guests with ease.
We can help you create a sociable kitchen perfect for entertaining.
Contact our showroom to speak with a designer and begin planning your new kitchen design for 2023.